, 1970. He grew up
enjoying life in the country - climbing fruit trees, playing soccer, as
well as swimming and fishing in the nearby creek with his four brothers
and four sisters.
Orlando's family moved to the nearby town of Benque
Viejo del Carmen in 1977 where he attended Mount Carmel Primary School.
He then enrolled at Sacred Heart High School where he graduated with
honors in 1989. Landy fondly recalls that his free time was spent
watching soccer matches on television and dreaming of being a
professional player. After school, he often tried to imitate his favorite
players during soccer matches with his classmates.
In 1990, Landy and his family moved to San Pedro Town.
Once on the island, the young man ventured out to look for a job and
found one doing store maintenance at the "Ice House." After a few months,
he accepted an offer to work as a bartender at Ramon's Village. Orlando
remembers it being a completely different environment. "I met a lot of
interesting people over the years," he recalled.
In 1992, Orlando was offered another bartending
job at El Playador Hotel, which he accepted. Landy enjoyed working at the
resort and it also gave him the time he needed to indulge in his favorite
pastime ñ soccer.
Later that year, Guatemalan Coach Palmiro Jonathan
Salas approached Orlando with an interesting proposal - to play soccer
for a Guatemalan team. It was an offer he could not refuse, so he bid
farewell to his family in San Pedro, not knowing that he would remain in
Guatemala City for the next three years. Residing in Guatemala City, he
played for the TipografÌa Nacional team for two years before transferring
to Puerto Barrios, Isabal, to play for their local team for a year.
Orlando set foot on the sandy streets of San Pedro
Town once again in late 1995. After such an unforgettable trip, it was
impossible to shrug off the "soccer bug." So, he approached the local
soccer team manager and was soon playing full-time for the San Pedro
Dolphins.
On February
12
th, 2000, Orlando
joined his life in holy matrimony to Angelica Galvez. Together, they are
the proud parents of a seven-month-old baby boy, Orlando Jr.
The following year, Landy received a proposal to join
the Kulture Yabra team. Once again he left San Pedro, moving to Belize
City to begin training for the upcoming football season. All of his hard
work and time away paid off though, when his new team earned the title of
Belize Premiere Football League Champions in 2002.
Landy returned to San Pedro Town in 2003 with an
invitation to rejoin his former Dolphins, the newly re-named San Pedro
SeaHawks. "We work very hard. People think that this is an easy job but
it is still a job, like any other. You have to have determination and
skill. However, at this job, if you make a mistake, you hear it, not only
from your boss, but everyone in town," he commented.
Over the years, Orlando has also played soccer for San
Pedro's Five-A-Side and 11-A-Side teams. He is proud to say that for
three years his teams have won championships and for two years he was
honored as the Most Valuable Player on these teams.
Most recently, Landy has taken on the additional
responsibility of organizing local sporting events as the President of
the San Pedro Sports Council. He stated, "It is often said that ëIdle
hands are the devil's workshop,' and I have found this to be true. We
need to find a way to keep our youth occupied in order to keep them away
from drugs and alcohol."
In his free time, Orlando enjoys taking walks on the
beach with his wife and son. In addition, he takes time to watch
professional soccer matches on television and looks for ways to improve
his own game.
A lucky man, Orlando discovered how to make a living
doing what he enjoys the most. "I could not have found a better job than
the one I have now. If you have a dream, all you have to do is work hard
to get what you want," he exclaimed.
Content with the improvements and accomplishments his
team has made, Orlando hopes to remain a "SeaHawk" for years to come. His
dream of playing soccer professionally has come true and is a prime
example of what a person can do once they "hitch their wagon to a star."
Determined, hard working and skillful, Orlando Pinelo tops the roster as
one of the champion team players in "Our Community."
